Purpose

The title of this blog hearkens back to one of my favorite stories from when I interned in Thailand in summer 2007. It was my last week interning with the Population and Community Development Association of Thailand (PDA)’s group in Krabi Province. After a whole month, the team at PDA had finally convinced me to take a day off and visit the beach. Given how amazing the beaches in Krabi are, it should not have taken that long , but then, I’ll confess to being something of a workaholic.

My trip to the beach involved a ride in a rickety wooden boat that liked to feint at capsizing with every sudden swell. When we finally made land, remember this was a tiny island off the coast of rural Thailand, the absolute last thing I expected to hear as I leapt off the boat was a slow southern drawl enunciating the simple fact “. . . it’s a long way for a Tar Heel . . .”

As a recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, I keep thinking back to that eerie moment of unexpected familiarity halfway around the world. Despite the almost limitless horizon of outcomes, destinations, and discoveries that the next few years hold in store, I believe there will always be something, perhaps incredibly unexpected, that connects me both to where I’ve been and to where I am going next. What form that connection takes, only time, and perhaps this blog, will tell.

Whether halfway around the world or next door in North Carolina, this blog will serve as a space for the stories, ideas, random articles, new discoveries, and general musings on life that I come across. I cannot guarantee that what follows will ascribe to any given theme or pattern. I just hope that my friends and family may use this space to track my wanderings, both geographic and mental, and that those who love stories and randomness will find something here to their liking.